Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

Friday, June 12, 2015

One year ago -- on June 10, 2014 -- Kevin Monteiro was released after nearly 30 years in prison for second-degree murder.
That day, Monteiro was dropped off by a prison van at the Greyhound
bus station in downtown Denver with a prison-issued debit card, and says
he felt completely lost.
“I had a hundred dollars in my pocket and a box of books," remembers Monteiro. "No family, nobody.”

Now, a year after his first day of freedom, Monteiro told
Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner that he's built a life for himself. He
has a steady job, his own apartment, and he's reconnecting with
relatives. Putting all of that together wasn't easy though.

“Prison is a funny thing. At first when you go in you hate
it. There’s a stage you go through. Then you come to accept it. Then you
come to depend on it," he said.

Breaking out of the routine took a lot of time, effort and
luck, Monteiro said. It was bad enough that at one point he actually
wanted to go back to prison. But those days are now passed, he said.

“I don’t miss prison. There’s times I miss some of the
people I left behind in prison," he said. "There are some good people
inside and they are worth saving.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full conversation, and read highlights below.

- See more at:
https://www.cpr.org/news/story/after-year-freedom-parolee-kevin-monteiro-still-carries-weight-his-past#sthash.E0Wrllja.KYvhthiF.dpuf

One year ago -- on June 10, 2014 -- Kevin Monteiro was released after nearly 30 years in prison for second-degree murder.
That day, Monteiro was dropped off by a prison van at the Greyhound
bus station in downtown Denver with a prison-issued debit card, and says
he felt completely lost.
“I had a hundred dollars in my pocket and a box of books," remembers Monteiro. "No family, nobody.”

Now, a year after his first day of freedom, Monteiro told
Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner that he's built a life for himself. He
has a steady job, his own apartment, and he's reconnecting with
relatives. Putting all of that together wasn't easy though.

“Prison is a funny thing. At first when you go in you hate
it. There’s a stage you go through. Then you come to accept it. Then you
come to depend on it," he said.

Breaking out of the routine took a lot of time, effort and
luck, Monteiro said. It was bad enough that at one point he actually
wanted to go back to prison. But those days are now passed, he said.

“I don’t miss prison. There’s times I miss some of the
people I left behind in prison," he said. "There are some good people
inside and they are worth saving.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full conversation, and read highlights below.

On the difference between what he planned and what's happened
"My plans were totally different. What I planned ... is totally
different to what’s happening in my life now. There’s a big difference
when you have friends. Coming out of prison with no family, with no one
that really cares is one thing. But when you come out and people care
about you and people give you a chance, that’s really amazing.”On having a weak immune system after decades inside
“Because I did so much time, and a lot of my time was in isolation,
so when I did come out of prison, I noticed that I catch colds a lot.
This last cold I had, I actually went to the hospital and they actually
had to give me a steroid and antibiotics. But when [a nurse] took the
blood and did an examination on me, she said your immune system is very
weak and very low. So I kind of drag colds along with me.”On giving advice to fellow parolees
“What an ex-offender or parolee has to do is, number one, be very
honest with themselves. And always remember that the number one thing in
an offender’s life is his victim. Always remember your victim. Don’t
ever separate that. I took a life. ... [T]hat’s something I can never
fix. So that victim is always in my mind.”
- See more at:
https://www.cpr.org/news/story/after-year-freedom-parolee-kevin-monteiro-still-carries-weight-his-past#sthash.E0Wrllja.KYvhthiF.dpuf

One year ago -- on June 10, 2014 -- Kevin Monteiro was released after nearly 30 years in prison for second-degree murder.
That day, Monteiro was dropped off by a prison van at the Greyhound
bus station in downtown Denver with a prison-issued debit card, and says
he felt completely lost.
“I had a hundred dollars in my pocket and a box of books," remembers Monteiro. "No family, nobody.”

Now, a year after his first day of freedom, Monteiro told
Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner that he's built a life for himself. He
has a steady job, his own apartment, and he's reconnecting with
relatives. Putting all of that together wasn't easy though.

“Prison is a funny thing. At first when you go in you hate
it. There’s a stage you go through. Then you come to accept it. Then you
come to depend on it," he said.

Breaking out of the routine took a lot of time, effort and
luck, Monteiro said. It was bad enough that at one point he actually
wanted to go back to prison. But those days are now passed, he said.

“I don’t miss prison. There’s times I miss some of the
people I left behind in prison," he said. "There are some good people
inside and they are worth saving.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full conversation, and read highlights below.

On the difference between what he planned and what's happened
"My plans were totally different. What I planned ... is totally
different to what’s happening in my life now. There’s a big difference
when you have friends. Coming out of prison with no family, with no one
that really cares is one thing. But when you come out and people care
about you and people give you a chance, that’s really amazing.”On having a weak immune system after decades inside
“Because I did so much time, and a lot of my time was in isolation,
so when I did come out of prison, I noticed that I catch colds a lot.
This last cold I had, I actually went to the hospital and they actually
had to give me a steroid and antibiotics. But when [a nurse] took the
blood and did an examination on me, she said your immune system is very
weak and very low. So I kind of drag colds along with me.”On giving advice to fellow parolees
“What an ex-offender or parolee has to do is, number one, be very
honest with themselves. And always remember that the number one thing in
an offender’s life is his victim. Always remember your victim. Don’t
ever separate that. I took a life. ... [T]hat’s something I can never
fix. So that victim is always in my mind.”
- See more at:
https://www.cpr.org/news/story/after-year-freedom-parolee-kevin-monteiro-still-carries-weight-his-past#sthash.E0Wrllja.KYvhthiF.dpuf

One year ago -- on June 10, 2014 -- Kevin Monteiro was released after nearly 30 years in prison for second-degree murder.
That day, Monteiro was dropped off by a prison van at the Greyhound
bus station in downtown Denver with a prison-issued debit card, and says
he felt completely lost.
“I had a hundred dollars in my pocket and a box of books," remembers Monteiro. "No family, nobody.”

Now, a year after his first day of freedom, Monteiro told
Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner that he's built a life for himself. He
has a steady job, his own apartment, and he's reconnecting with
relatives. Putting all of that together wasn't easy though.

“Prison is a funny thing. At first when you go in you hate
it. There’s a stage you go through. Then you come to accept it. Then you
come to depend on it," he said.

Breaking out of the routine took a lot of time, effort and
luck, Monteiro said. It was bad enough that at one point he actually
wanted to go back to prison. But those days are now passed, he said.

“I don’t miss prison. There’s times I miss some of the
people I left behind in prison," he said. "There are some good people
inside and they are worth saving.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full conversation, and read highlights below.

On the difference between what he planned and what's happened
"My plans were totally different. What I planned ... is totally
different to what’s happening in my life now. There’s a big difference
when you have friends. Coming out of prison with no family, with no one
that really cares is one thing. But when you come out and people care
about you and people give you a chance, that’s really amazing.”On having a weak immune system after decades inside
“Because I did so much time, and a lot of my time was in isolation,
so when I did come out of prison, I noticed that I catch colds a lot.
This last cold I had, I actually went to the hospital and they actually
had to give me a steroid and antibiotics. But when [a nurse] took the
blood and did an examination on me, she said your immune system is very
weak and very low. So I kind of drag colds along with me.”On giving advice to fellow parolees
“What an ex-offender or parolee has to do is, number one, be very
honest with themselves. And always remember that the number one thing in
an offender’s life is his victim. Always remember your victim. Don’t
ever separate that. I took a life. ... [T]hat’s something I can never
fix. So that victim is always in my mind.”
- See more at:
https://www.cpr.org/news/story/after-year-freedom-parolee-kevin-monteiro-still-carries-weight-his-past#sthash.E0Wrllja.KYvhthiF.dpuf